The experiments is (are) over

Well I cut my hair. I know, I know this has nothing to do specifically with triathlon but for some strange reason I was equating my growth in triathlon with a sort of 'rebirth' of my life and I felt a new look would help. It didn't. Excluding one bet in 1999, which I won, and the last six months, my crewcuts been a part of image for the last 20 years. There were years where I felt I could control nothing but the legnth of my hair and I kept it short. Ten years in the infantry didn't hurt that image.

So apart from me looking like a cross between Quasimodo and the Elephant Man, here is the before the after of my haircut this weekend.










The other experiment that is not over yet but may soon be is drinking coffee. I haven't had a cup in over two weeks but not a day goes by that I don't wish I had just a sip of the black gold. I am tired all morning long. I think about dressing up as a coffee drinker for Halloween.

I have so many awesome pictures from Soma that I can post one a day for the rest of the year. I think instead I will just pepper some of my favorites in twos or threes this week. As a result you get to see some of my training partners doing their part on the course.

Mike, my partner who crashed literally at my feet finished the last 20 miles on my mountain bike for the bike portion and then ran the half marathon in terrible pain. He finished in 7:45. He was taken to the ER from the finish line and had a bruised rib and some contusions.

He had enough determination in him to ask his girlfriend to marry him at the finish line and she said yes. She didn't know if she should cry for herself or for Mike. So she saved both for later to be there for him.